The Tale of You and Me
by meltedjujubees
Summary: Shyvana's quest for vengeance brings her beyond the Great Barrier and into the bright streets of Demacia, accompanied only by a prince presumed dead and the inescapable feeling that even here, she didn't belong.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: Hello friends! This was initially the first chapter to a fic that I was tentatively planning out, but I got stuck with my other fic and I decided to finish this chapter and upload it anyway. I got really excited writing it and I plan to continue it for a decent amount of time, but I still want to finish my other fic before seriously committing to this one, so I'm not sure what the update times are going to be like._**

**_I apologize in advance :c_**

**_Anyways! Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated, and I hope you have fun reading it :] Enjoy!_**

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><p>"Sir."<p>

The quiet whisper carried clearly over the still morning air, and there was a muted shuffling in response as the man being addressed moved to the source of the voice. The soldier who spoke was hunched close to the ground, cradling a broken, red-streaked fern in his hands, proceeding to tilt his shoulder backwards so that the approaching man could see the ruined plant. He crouched next to him, his armor clinking quietly.

"It's injured."

The crouching man rubbed a hand across his chin, tracing over a layer of scrubby stubble, his lips almost pulling into a smile.

"It should be that much easier to track it. Any thoughts on what else is hunting it down? The injuries seem quite serious."

His partner laid the fern back on the ground, shrugging and standing up.

"Not a clue. But it's apparently more successful than we are, isn't it, Jarvan?"

Jarvan's lips finally cracked into that smile, but he didn't stand up right away; he traced over the surrounding foliage with his eyes, noting where the forest seemed unperturbed and where it seemed as broken as the spot in front of him. He followed the path of destroyed greenery, frowning at the increasing amount of blood that spattered the ground. He and his company hadn't seen the dragon for a few days, at least; whatever was tracking it down put his group to shame, seeing as they'd been following it for weeks and had yet to get anywhere near scratching its shiny hide. Jarvan continued along the ruined path until a slight gleam in the ground caught his eye, and he crouched lower, picking the small object up with gloved fingers. He held it close to his eyes, feeling the beginnings of another smile.

"Renee."

The woman he called broke away from the group travelling with Jarvan, the furs draped around her shoulders rustling as she kneeled next to him. Aside from being one of their best trackers and soldiers to boot, Renee was one of Demacia's most promising biologists, and Jarvan held the item still pinched between his fingers out to her, dropping it in her palm and waiting for her to examine it. She turned the amber colored scale over in her hands, running a finger along one of the sharper sides and shrugging her shoulders.

"It's a dragon's scale."

Jarvan nodded, his initial thoughts confirmed. He waited one more moment for her to finish her thought.

"But…"

Jarvan smiled when a frown crossed her face, and he finished the sentence for her in his excitement, the fire colored gleam of the scale matching the spark in his eyes.

"But our beast is blue."

He picked the scale from Renee's palm, clapping her on the shoulder and returning with her to the rest of the group. Everyone naturally gathered around, the smile stretched across Jarvan's face spreading to them. To someone else, stumbling upon a dragon would most likely not seem like a good thing; finding two would seem extraordinarily unfortunate, but to Jarvan, it was exactly why he even bothered going beyond the Great Barrier. What better way to serve his self-imposed penance than hunting the most fearsome beasts to stalk Valoran?

"There's more to this game yet."

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><p>Shyvana overslept.<p>

She hastily swept dirt and stray leaves over the remains of her camp, her agitation making her movements sloppy. She tried to focus on the task at hand, but the thought of her prey escaping her filled her with an anger that made her limbs shake. The dragon she was hunting- the dragon who murdered her father- was getting farther and farther north the longer she spent sleeping and wasting her time.

She needed to move.

She stopped only shortly by the river she'd been following to drink and to wash away the earth that clung stubbornly to her skin, ignoring the hollow rumbling in her stomach and reminding herself that it was no new thing to forgo a meal or two; the task at hand was infinitely more important. Shyvana ran her dripping fingers through her snarled hair, doing her best to smooth out the impossible tangles and tying it back in a simple braid that fell the length of her back. She retied the straps of her fur vest and the straps that ran down the sides of her leather pants, and then left the bank of the river in search of the trail the murderer had left.

As injured as he was, it was all too easy to follow.

The blood spattered forest reeked to her, and the drake had clumsy footing; his steps were clearly telegraphed by crushed plants and ruined trees, and Shyvana's earlier panic subsided somewhat. It was clear enough from the trail he'd been leaving through the night that his injuries were getting worse, not better, and if she was to make a guess she would say that his progress was significantly slower. She tread carefully in the forest to the right of the trail, keeping her eyes trained on the surrounding greenery, listening for anything that might sound strange in the morning air. As usual, it was nearly silent. Most of the beasts that would cause Shyvana any worry were asleep or very, very far away from where she was now, and it was easy for her to let her sleepless nights steal away her caution. In her complacency, her sharp vigilance began to slacken after only a few hours of following the trail, and the rage that usually kept her going began to wane while her exhaustion grew. Shyvana's steps fell slower and softer to the earth, and once again her stomach reminded her of how badly she'd been neglecting her own personal care.

Such was her fatigue that when she passed the poorly concealed camp of several travel-weary humans she paid it no attention, and when some time later there was a loud snap in the forest around the drake's trail, she barely even lifted her head. But even as oblivious as she was to the less obvious signs, humans had a sharp, distinct smell, and they made the grave mistake of standing upwind from her. Shyvana had only ever known one human, and to smell so many so far from where they were supposed to live quickly jerked her from her sleepy stupor. She stopped moving to listen carefully, but it appeared that they were at least smart enough to continue moving in an effort to stay ahead of her on the trail. Shyvana debated with herself as quickly as she could, scanning the forest and still standing as motionless as possible.

She should turn around.

She didn't know how many humans there were or even exactly _where_ they were, and although she knew from painful experience how frail they tended to be, she wasn't eager to find them. On the other hand, the smell was coming right from the drake's trail; if she didn't know any better, she would say that the humans weren't lost and almost seemed to be following the same path as she was. Shyvana's hands tightened into fists as her self-preservation warred with vengeance, and her frustration grew the longer it took for her to settle on an answer. She, more than anything, wanted to continue, but she knew that if her father was alive he would most certainly forbid it.

But he wasn't here, was he?

The cruel dragon had murdered him right in front of her, and if she didn't find him, she would have nothing. Shyvana's face drew into an almost predatory frown, and she continued down the path, quietly and carefully, but more determined than ever, the stench of the humans growing all the more pungent. By now, she was almost glad; she did not smile, but Shyvana wanted to meet the humans that dared interfere with her directive.

She would not let them stand in her way.

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><p>Dex walked one last lap around the miniscule clearing, stoking the smoldering remains of a camp fire and sending another, fresh plume of smoke into the sky, and let the cloth he held loosely in his fingers fall to the ground. He paused one moment, analyzing the scene with a frown before casually kicking a handful of dirt over the torn shirt, and then smiling with satisfaction. He quickly jogged out of the clearing, to where Jarvan and what remained of the group were waiting beyond the tree line. He was listening to whatever Renee was saying about dragons, most of it information she had repeated several times since that morning. He gave Jarvan a thumbs up when he lifted his head, and the man smiled.<p>

"All set?"

Dex nodded, waving his hand behind him.

"If it's still following the other drake, it should pass through here. There's no reason for it to stop taking the same trail as us now."

Jarvan rubbed his hand across his chin, the telltale sign that he was carefully considering the information presented to him. Eventually he dropped his hand and replaced it with a smile, nudging Dex with his elbow and calling the rest of the small group to attention.

"If it's anything like that other dragon, we've got to be careful."

His serious tone fell heavily on everyone assembled, but after only a few seconds his smile was back, although much more dangerous and determined than before.

"The hunt is on."

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><p>Shyvana followed the scent trail for hours, until the forest was threatening to lose the light and the painful clenching of her stomach began to dull. She pressed forward, nearly desensitized to the smell of the humans and beginning to think that it would benefit her more to set camp for the night and find something to eat than to follow the path into the night. Shyvana deviated from the path, moving more towards the small river to find a place to set up her camp. She pushed through the thick foliage and onto the waterfront, squatting on the muddy banks and leaning over the water, quickly scrubbing her hands clean so she could bring handfuls of water to her mouth. The cold water helped clear away some of the weariness that fogged her mind, but exacerbated the clawing hunger in her stomach, and Shyvana flicked her fingers at the river, turning away in frustration. It was then that she smelled it.<p>

Smoke.

It was just the faintest whiff on a passing breeze, but it was, unsurprisingly, coming from the direction that she had been walking in earlier- towards the humans. Shyvana left the riverside, her hunger forgotten in a moment of excitement. It was a small campfire, for sure; small campfires meant a small group of humans, and Shyvana smiled just slightly to herself as she continued quietly down the trail. She would deal with the humans when she found them, and in the morning, she would find the murderous drake and avenge her father.

It would be easy.

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><p>The man to Jarvan's right sucked in a quiet breath, and when met with his answering glance, quickly decided that sneezing was not in his best interest. Jarvan couldn't allow their cover to be blown now; they could only just hear the quiet steps of an approaching creature, and if anyone so much as half-sneezed, they would scare it off. Jarvan listened to the near silent footfalls, surprised at how different they seemed from the lumbering steps of the other drake. It was possible it was a different animal, but given how he could hear it at all and that it was following the same trail it had been for the last day, Jarvan was tempted to think not. His excitement grew as the steps drew closer, and the whole group seemed to collectively hold their breath as the drake took its first step into the clearing.<p>

Well, Jarvan had been wrong before.

The creature creeping tentatively into the clearing was certainly not a dragon, decked with the curves that indicated it was a woman, covered in thin leathers and small furs. If Jarvan had to guess, she was very nearly his own lofty height, and the longer he stared the more he realized that although she was no drake, she was far from human. Her skin was a deep blue-purple hue that reminded him almost of a painful bruise, only more muted and pleasant to look at. She had wild dark hair that, for the most part, was tied in a braid down her back, or falling in tendrils around her face. And even from the distance he was at, Jarvan could see that through the generous gaps in her clothing the strangely purple skin was covered in patches of amber scales at the backs of her forearms, the sides of her thighs, the tips of her shoulders. Jarvan slowly opened the fist at his side, glancing at the fiery scale he'd been hanging on to since he found it. His eyes dashed quickly between them, and the longer he looked the more he was absolutely certain that the scale belonged to her.

What was going on?

Jarvan didn't have time to give any of his company an order before someone behind him slipped, thudding quietly against the ground and uttering a soft curse. Jarvan flinched, and sure enough the woman that had been carefully inspecting the clearing jerked her head around, slipping into a half crouch and bringing her hands to chest level. Jarvan was already moving, and before she could bolt from the clearing he stepped into it, raising one hand to get her attention and coming to an abrupt stop when he saw the movement only served to startle her further.

"Wait!"

The shout was almost breathless, and although she was practically mid dash, the girl's muscles froze, her wide-eyed stare fixating on Jarvan's face.

Nobody moved.

Both Jarvan and the woman standing across the clearing were breathing heavily, the chill air making each sharp breath almost painful. Jarvan wasn't sure how much longer she would stand there before taking off, and he spoke before she could move.

"We're sorry for startling you, we were just-"

He stopped mid-sentence when something obvious occurred to him, and he laughed in muted chagrin.

"You don't even understand me, do you?"

It should have occurred to him sooner that anyone he met south of the Great Barrier definitely didn't speak the common tongue, and certainly not someone he wasn't even sure was human. The hand he had been holding up dropped to his side, and he turned halfway to his company, who were currently beginning to step through the beginnings of the tree line.

"Quietly. We're apparently mistaken- she's certainly not the dragon we were hoping fo-"

A voice rang out over the clearing then, throaty and demanding and cutting off the rest of what Jarvan was about to say.

"I understand."

Jarvan slowly turned back around, following his group's stares to the woman who was no longer crouched mid-flight but standing tall and proud, her mouth set in a furiously straight line. For the first time, Jarvan's eyes locked with hers, and he said nothing in response while they stared each other down. Her eyes reminded him of the campfires he's become so familiar with; so bright and alive, the orangey hue glinting clear and bright, and cut only by pupils that were more reptilian than human. No, not campfires; her eyes were not soft and calm, they were dangerous and piercing, their brightness more threatening than soothing.

They were wildfires.

Jarvan waited until he was sure that his entire group was standing behind him, the assumption reinforced when the woman's hands tightened into fists, her eyes shifting nervously beyond him. He spoke then, slowly and quietly despite what she had just said.

"We thought you were a dragon."

Saying it out loud with the girl standing in front of him, Jarvan felt more than a little foolish, and one of the men behind him laughed nervously.

"I am."

Another uncomfortable silence filled the air, but before Jarvan could break it, she spoke again in way of explanation.

"Half. I am a half-dragon."

It didn't do much to clear up Jarvan's confusion, or anyone else's, for that matter; a half-dragon is something he'd never heard of, let alone witnessed, but the woman was strange enough that he didn't doubt the statement for a moment. Her shoulders slumped as if what she told them was a shameful confession, and she averted her gaze. While Jarvan tried to think of what could possibly be his next move, the half-dragon's stomach rumbled rather loudly, and one of her clenched hands twitched unconsciously towards it before she pulled it quickly back to her side.

"We were about to set up camp."

Jarvan began, gesturing behind him.

"Come with us. At least to eat."

He couldn't begin to guess the reactions of his group, but for the moment, he didn't care- he was focused only on the narrowed gaze that had returned to his face, that stoically searched his expression. She took her time answering, and Jarvan was almost considering that maybe she _didn't_ understand when she finally replied.

"I accept."

Jarvan smiled, continuing to avoid looking behind him and trying his best to smile reassuringly.

"Excellent."

He finally glanced behind him, keeping his eyes lowered and speaking quietly.

"Dex? Take everyone to camp please. I'll be there shortly."

He didn't wait for Dex to respond and he didn't meet his eyes, but after a moment of still silence the air was filled with the sound of the squad filing slowly into the surrounding forest. Jarvan waited until the noise was far away enough for him not to be overheard, and he moved closer to the wild woman, each step he took followed carefully by that sharp, unwavering gaze.

"I never asked your name."

Her glance was still apprehensive, but significantly less so now that they were alone.

"Shyvana."

Jarvan smiled again, aware only now that all the smiling might appear strange. He held a hand out anyway, introducing himself.

"I'm Jarvan the Fourth. Crowned prince of Demacia."

Her eyes narrowed at the last part of his introduction, and she stared at his hand until he let it awkwardly fall to his side. Jarvan figured she wasn't one for shaking hands and nodded his head to where his company had disappeared to.

"Shall we?"

She took the lead without possibly knowing where they were going, and even though the sun was dipping behind the trees and the forest would be dark in a matter of minutes, Jarvan didn't doubt that she could find the camp with no help from him. He had to almost jog after her, fighting to keep pace with her swift stride. Despite how differently the night turned out, Jarvan had the rare opportunity to speak with a race no one had ever encountered before; he had an endless amount of questions practically falling from his mouth, and he wasn't sure where to begin.

"You were following our trail."

Not exactly a question, but he figured it was the easiest thing to start out with. He also thought it best not to mention that most of the trail was purposely laid out in an attempt to lure her to them.

"Not directly."

Jarvan tilted his head in confusion, his eyes focused intently on her face. He wasn't watching where he was going, but he figured if he followed close enough to Shyvana that he wouldn't get lost.

"Another trail, then?"

She pursed her lips, seemingly reluctant to answer.

"Yes."

They stumbled into the camp before Jarvan could ask the obvious follow-up question, and Shyvana paused on the fringe of the activity. Jarvan's soldiers were bustling between several hastily strung up tents, lighting cook fires, pouring drinks, cleaning weapons; Shyvana stared awkwardly until Jarvan led her to a tent a little aside from the rest, leaving Shyvana to perch stiffly around the freshly dug fire pit situated in front of it and joining the rest of his company, who, to their credit, didn't immediately assault him with questions. He took his travelling pack from the man who had been kind enough to carry it for him while he walked with Shyvana and grabbed one of the game pheasants they had set aside for dinner, leveling his eyes to everyone gathered around him.

"I'll explain later."

The hushed whisper fell quickly from his lips, and he hoisted the bag onto his shoulder, pheasant in his hand, and walked back to where he'd left Shyvana. He carefully lowered the pack to the ground while Shyvana watched, looking for a place to put the pheasant, and taking long enough that Shyvana tugged the bird from his hands, not lifting her eyes and immediately beginning to methodically pull the feathers from the bird.

"Light the fire."

Jarvan did as he was told, expertly lighting the campfire with swift, practiced motions while trying to simultaneously watch everything that Shyvana did. His eyes eventually moved from what her hands were doing to the rest of her body, marveling at the unusual beauty of it. The skin that was the strangest hue of blue – or purple? - that he'd ever seen was almost navy in the night, but the fire in her eyes was as bright as ever. He forced his gaze away from her eyes before he ran out of time to stare freely, moving to the patches of scales that graced seemingly random parts of her body. The firelight glittered off their smooth edges, the color the muted red of glowing coals. They spanned the backs of her deft hands, splotched the skin around her hips, and Jarvan could see that even though the scales themselves subsided, the slit in her vest that left a thin sliver of skin from between her collar bones to her navel bare was imprinted with the pattern of scales, the navy of the skin turned black where it outlined the pattern. When Jarvan's eyes inevitably made it back to her face, he noticed there was the smallest cluster of the scaled pattern beneath the corner of each eye, dusting the top edges of her sharp cheekbones and disappearing into her hairline. Besides the parts of her that were decidedly dragon, Jarvan noticed that her clothes were worn and dusty, and her feet were caked in the mud that lined the riverbanks. Staring as hard as he did, he even noticed that the dark flesh beneath her eyes seemed puffy and discolored, as if she was exceptionally exhausted.

"Are you finished?"

Her lazy tone caught him off guard, and he flushed slightly, pointing to the pheasant she still held.

"Are you?"

She presented it to him with what he assumed was a satisfied smile, her mouth just barely lifting upward in one corner. It was picked perfectly clean, and Jarvan proceeded to affix it to a spit, turning it gently over the fire while he worked up to asking Shyvana what he hadn't had the chance to mention earlier.

"You're tracking someone."

It came out as less of a question and more of a statement, but it didn't seem to especially bother her. She watched Jarvan tend to the food, her gaze unblinking.

"A dragon."

Jarvan's movements faltered, and his eyes flew to hers.

"Is it wounded, by any chance?"

Shyvana's head jerked up and her gaze locked onto Jarvan's, her nose flaring in what could only be anger- the only definitive emotion he'd experienced from her yet.

"You know of him?"

Jarvan was unsettled by the sudden intensity of the conversation, but he answered calmly.

"Of course. We've been tracking it for weeks."

Shyvana's eyes fell to the fists in her lap, and she practically growled her next words.

"You shouldn't be- he is a murderer."

One of Jarvan's hands lifted in an attempt to comfort her, but he thought better of it and let it slowly fall back to his side.

"I don't understand."

Shyvana let her fists loosen, instead staring at her palms.

"He's hunted my family from the moment of my birth."

Jarvan had a good enough idea of what the rest of the story was from her heavy tone, and although he almost didn't want to, he asked anyway.

"Your family?"

Shyvana's fingers twitched, and even though she fought to keep the anger in her tone, it sounded more forlorn that anything Jarvan had ever heard.

"My father was a great dragon- but lesser than he. And my mother…"

She shrugged in a weak attempt at indifference.

"Humans are weak."

It was an explanation that Jarvan had no hope of replying to, but he was saved from the awful sadness of the moment when Shyvana suddenly lifted her head, her face clear of the bitterness that had marred it only seconds ago.

"It's burning."

She nodded to the pheasant that was, in fact, starting to smoke, and Jarvan quickly moved the spit, carefully sticking the free end into the packed dirt while he rooted around in his pack for a plate and cutlery. He was almost grateful when he remembered he had an extra, and then felt guilty when he remembered who had left it behind- a member of his group that had unfortunately not made it this far. He was about to hand them to Shyvana when she ripped one of the legs off of the pheasant, staring at his halfway extended hands in confusion. She tore into the meat with gusto while Jarvan returned half of the flatware to his pack, setting his own in front of him and using his knife to carefully cut off most of the breast. The little campfire was almost silent while they ate, the only sounds the shallow breaths between bites of the thin meat. Shyvana continued to pull off pieces of meat she deemed the most eye catching while eyeing Jarvan strangely when he used his knife to remove the cuts he wanted, until the bird was hardly more than bits of leftover meat clinging to greasy bones.

They seemed reluctant to speak after that; Jarvan wanted to be as content as she seemed to be just staring into the fire, but he knew the company would be up early the next morning to continue their hunt, and he wanted badly for Shyvana to go with them.

"You want to avenge your father."

Shyvana didn't look up, but she answered immediately.

"Not want- I _will_ avenge him."

Once again Jarvan found himself admiring the fire in her voice, and hoped her anger was great enough that she would accept his offer.

"Come with us. My company and I will aid you as best we can."

The following silence was heavy and lengthy compared to how fast she had just answered him, and Jarvan anticipated a flat refusal. He was surprised when she finally whispered her decision.

"I accept."

The same words she'd responded with earlier, and before Jarvan could say anything else she left the campfire, striding quickly into the forest next to his tent to where he assumed she would make her own camp. He watched the dark trees for several minutes, not sure what he was waiting for but strangely reluctant to look away. The anticipation of hunting this dragon had always excited him, but he would have never have guessed that he'd recruit a half-dragon along the way- or that if he had to imagine one, that the half-dragon would be anything like Shyvana was.

At this rate- he wondered what the next day would bring.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Hello again! I know it's been forever since I posted the first chapter, but I still stand by what I said before; my other fic comes first, and this second. That being said, man I am so excited about this fic. It won't be done anytime soon, and I have tons of plans for it :D_**

**_Anyway!_**

**_Araconos- Thank you thank you!_**

**_Ulcaasi- DO YOU LIKE IT. ARE YOU EXCITED?_**

**_The Greek Geek3010- Thank you!_**

**_Renderedvoice- Thank you so much! Sorry the update time was really long :c_**

**_ErrantLord- Thank you so much ;-; I promise you, I won't stop the fic anytime soon._**

**_Okay friends! Enjoy :]_**

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><p>Jarvan didn't sleep well that night.<p>

As a result, he was up early the next morning, cursing the lack of variety in his diet while slowly turning another game hen over his camp fire, and watching over the silent tents of his company. Jarvan made sure there seemed to be nothing wrong with the camp and that his fire wasn't too high before getting up and heading a short distance through the forest to the banks of the river, crouching carefully over the edge of the water and dipping the water skin he'd brought with him beneath the surface. He watched the clear water run over his fingers while he waited, and when the skin was a satisfying weight he set it on the ground, staring at his reflection in the water that now ran smooth.

He looked exhausted.

He noted the circles beneath his eyes and rubbed a hand across the growing layer of stubble that was threatening to become a beard any day now. There was a discolored scar that cut across the very corner of his jaw, and his tanned skin was marked with light lines in the corners of his eyes, and the hair that had been trimmed to the same regulated length every year that he lived in Demacia was just beginning to brush the tops of his shoulders. The face that shifted in the waters of the river was tired and older, but Jarvan liked that the Demacian softness that had marked his face was nearly nonexistent now; his features were sharper, more angled, and he knew that what changed him ran so much deeper than looks alone. When faced with his reflection now, he felt no shame, no disappointment, not a shred of the regret that plagued him when he first returned home from Noxus. He looked tired and unkempt and more than a little ragged, but every flaw etched across his skin added to the smile that was beginning to curve his lips.

Jarvan eventually remembered that he'd left food over an open fire and left the river bank, taking the occasional sip from the water skin as he walked. The morning was much warmer than the previous; the breeze that fluttered gently between the trees was hot and dry, and Jarvan tugged lightly at the outer coat of furs he had, eager to get to camp and stuff them somewhere else.

He stepped into the camp a moment later, noting that his squad was still sleeping and being only mildly surprised that the space around his campfire was not empty; Shyvana was sitting cross legged in the same spot as the night before, already pulling bits of meat off of the hen she'd taken off the fire. She looked up briefly when Jarvan sat across from her, but seemed much more interested in eating and didn't offer a greeting. He waited for her hands to be free to offer her the water skin, and she took it silently, taking long swigs of the water while Jarvan watched.

She had a smudge of dirt across one cheek that obscured most of the scale pattern on that side of her face and that he assumed was from sleeping on the ground, and her hair was in even more snarls than the previous night, but despite the outward wildness of her features she appeared well-rested; even the frown that usually tugged down her features was less severe. She quietly handed the water skin back to him when she was finished, and when she returned to eating he left the camp fire briefly to grab something from his tent. Shyvana watched him set the large traveling pack down amidst the clatter of metal as whatever was inside settled, and Jarvan lifted the flap to pull out one long, thin object, swathed in thick cloth that he set gently across his lap. He began to untie the furs draped around his arms, stuffing it unceremoniously into the bag with a content sigh, lastly reaching into a side pocket of the bag and pulling out a thin, flat stone, well-worn from use. Shyvana stopped eating, curious as to what was beneath the cloth and what the stone was for. Jarvan moved aside the object's covering, revealing a narrow blade that caught the light filtering through the trees and shone sharply, and began to slowly run the stone along the edge.

Shyvana watched the rhythmic motions, the sound of their breathing and the scrape of the stone the only noises that broke the silence. She noticed how careful and slow he moved, and when she grew bored of the movement her eyes drifted to his hands, and his arms that were now left bare to the morning sun. Each finger was well calloused and covered in a light coating of dust from the whetstone, and thick muscles moved beneath tanned skin that were covered in a fair amount of mostly new scars. Shyvana's frown deepened the longer she watched, until she finally broke the relative silence.

"It does not suit you."

Jarvan's hand stopped moving, and he looked up in confusion.

"What?"

Shyvana jerked her chin at the sword, and spoke louder.

"The blade does not suit you. It was ill chosen."

Jarvan considered her words for a moment before returning to carefully sharpening the blade, chuckling quietly as he did.

"It's not mine, exactly. I prefer a lance myself."

Shyvana tilted her head to the side, her frown impossibly deepening.

"A lance?"

Jarvan set the whetstone to the side this time, gripping the handle of the sword and holding it an arm's length outwards and to the side, but close enough that Shyvana could see her reflection in the steel.

"It's stronger than a sword- much bigger, too. But not as practical, I suppose."

Shyvana's taut expression loosened as he began to wrap the cloth back around the sword, unwilling to say so but deciding that a lance sounded much better.

"Why do you not possess one?"

Jarvan's slight smile disappeared, and when he spoke again his voice was notably heavier.

"I do, actually. I left it in Demacia."

Shyvana allowed herself a few seconds to understand why he would do such a thing, but she garnered no answers.

"Why?"

Jarvan carefully tucked the sword back into his pack, maneuvering it around the furs and tightening the flap closed. He took another slow drink from the water skin while he thought carefully of his answer, trying to come up with a reply that would remotely make sense to her.

"I left it because… I didn't deserve it. It was forged for me when I pledged myself to Demacia, and when I failed it, when I failed my country and my men…"

It was clear that his explanation wasn't making as much sense as he thought it would, and he shook his head, trying another direction.

"I came here to find atonement, I suppose. That's what I told my father before I left. I didn't think I could find what I was looking for if I brought it with me."

Shyvana's expression stormed over again, and she pursed her lips.

"That is very foolish."

Jarvan laughed at her dreadfully serious tone, earning a curious stare.

"I don't disagree."

Shyvana didn't have another question after that, and when Jarvan was sure she was finished he began to pick at what was left of the hen, pulling the meat off with his fingers. They sat in an almost companionable silence for several minutes, until the rest of the camp began to stir. Shyvana glanced almost nervously at the first person to emerge and stood up almost immediately, striding quickly into the thick of the forest and disappearing without a word. She was gone so fast that Jarvan had no time to call her back or ask her where she was going, and before he could even begin to go after her Dex was at his side, his eyes on the same spot as his.

"Where's she off to?"

Jarvan shook his head, standing to better speak with Dex and using the water skin to clean his hands.

"Not a clue."

Dex frowned, and his lip curled ever so slightly.

"Why do we trust her? She seems dangerous to me, and we don't know anything about half-dragons, or why she accepted our help so easily. It doesn't make sense."

Jarvan's expression darkened, but he didn't dispute Dex's argument; they were the same questions that had been keeping him awake all night, and he didn't have an answer for any of them. He was aware of the danger he was putting his team in by having Shyvana around and how careless it was for him to trust someone like her so quickly, but he couldn't quite explain why he didn't feel like she was harmful to them. Maybe it was because she'd been so fervent when she spoke of her father's murder, and because Jarvan knew that hate made people seem cruel and angry; but what would she be when the drake was dead? Jarvan was willing to bet there was more to Shyvana than vengeance alone.

"Trust her because I do."

Jarvan met Dex's hard gaze with an unwavering stare of his own, but Dex didn't match it for long- he wouldn't be here with Jarvan if he didn't trust him and his judgment, and despite his personal doubts he couldn't lose faith in him now.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

><p><em>"Trust her because I do."<em>

Shyvana tilted her head away from the clearing, heading slowly up the trail and thinking lightly on Jarvan's brief conversation. She was more inclined to agree with the man she did not know than with Jarvan himself; he appeared to be noble and proud, the markings of a prince, but Shyvana thought that here, away from Demacia, they didn't get you far.

They got you killed.

She didn't think too much on how ill-suited the humans were for life below the Barrier; after they helped her kill the drake, she would have her vengeance and they would leave. Whether they trusted her or not while they were doing wouldn't matter, and she doubted she would think of it after they were gone.

Shyvana picked a spot on the trail not too far away from the camp where she could wait for Jarvan and his men, sitting amidst the gnarled roots of a wide sweeping tree that kept the morning's sun off of her face. She leaned her head against the bark of the tree, pulling her braid away from her back and closing her eyes, tugging the tie from her hair and beginning to run her fingers through the knotted strands. It was something Shyvana did when she wanted to relax; the soothing pressure reminded her of when she was very young, almost too young to remember, and her mother would sit Shyvana on her lap and braid her hair while she spun stories of distant kingdoms and their valiant kings, of lands that warred and traded and built up their cities. It was one of the reasons she decided to work with Jarvan at all; Demacia was a name her mother spoke often and proud, and some of Shyvana's favorite stories were of the brave soldiers that fought in the Dauntless Vanguard.

She wondered what it would be like to be a prince.

Or even an esteemed soldier, for that matter. What would it be like to live and fight for a home? To live in comfort and safety with people who knew you and grew up with you, and would gladly fight by your side? Shyvana entertained the daydream until the thought of her mother and the home they were always denied made her bitter, and the frown that had dropped from her face in the few minutes of peace returned deeper than before. She hastily tied back her hair, hugging her legs to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. This was usually how she ended up when she thought of her mother for too long; Shyvana got angry and frustrated, and she didn't even have her father to comfort her anymore. Her grief was fresh and fueled by resentment, and Shyvana had to blink rapidly against the stinging in her eyes.

This is why the dragon had to die.

Her parents deserved better than an impure child, and they deserved better deaths; it was her obligation to end the drake that denied them life. With Jarvan and his men, it would be possible. She didn't expect the humans to trust her or to accept her, but she expected them to fight, and if them living beyond the Barrier was anything, it was a testament to their strength.

Shyvana roughly rubbed her hands across her eyes, brushing the stray hairs away from her face and standing up. She'd been sitting for much longer than she intended, and if she wanted to catch up to Jarvan and his men she would have to leave now. They were following the same trail was yesterday, the pungent scent of his group nearly masking the heavy musk of the drake, and it was easy enough for Shyvana to follow. She walked faster, not trying as hard as she usually did to mask the sound of her footsteps, more than a little surprised at the distance the group had covered in the time she was absent; they were certainly moving faster than yesterday, and if the clumsy trail left by the drake was anything to go by, they would find him in hardly any time at all.

Shyvana shivered despite the heat of the day, and rubbed her hands over her arms. She was nervous, understandably so, but eager to end this. There was nothing she enjoyed about the hunt and nothing she enjoyed about being this far north, so close to the Barrier. Shyvana entertained the idea of trekking to Kumungu when her quest here was over, and by the time she caught up with the tail end of Jarvan's group she was nearly lost in a daydream of lush jungles and exotic lands.

Shyvana immediately picked out were Jarvan stood in the group, conveniently located at the very back and away from the rest of his company. She stepped quickly from the forest and to his side, and he only very briefly looked surprised. The look faded into a smile, even though Shyvana's face stayed in its trademark frown.

"You disappeared awfully fast this morning."

Shyvana ignored the underlying question in his remark, choosing instead to keep her eyes on the forest floor and not reply. Jarvan didn't seem as content with the silence as she was; he cleared his throat to speak again, and Shyvana sighed quietly.

"You never told me why this drake was hunting you."

Shyvana's answer was quick and sharp, her demeanor souring so quickly that Jarvan was left stunned.

"And I will not."

He glanced over while they walked, but her gaze was still downcast and stormy. He'd obviously offended her, and even though he felt bad, he didn't really know what to say to fix it. He ran a hand nervously through his hair, casting his eyes to a part of the forest away from Shyvana.

"Forgive my forwardness- I didn't mean to offend."

He didn't look back to see if her expression had changed, but she huffed a quiet sound that sounded like an acceptance to him, and he tried to think of a different line of questions that might not be so personal. The longer he thought, the more it seemed like there was nothing he could say- he couldn't possibly know what would offend her, but there was so much he was curious about. He sifted through the questions running through his mind, settling on one that he thought seemed innocuous enough.

"You speak the common tongue fluently."

Shyvana glanced over at him, but he was still nervously diverting his gaze, and she almost dropped her frown. For a grown Prince, he was rather shy.

"My mother taught me. She was a traveler."

Jarvan thought over her answer, rubbing a hand over his chin. She didn't seem to mind the question, and answered readily enough.

"A traveler?"

He looked at Shyvana from the corner of his eyes, and she nodded, once again studying the forest floor.

"She had been to every city in Valoran. Even Demacia."

Jarvan raised his eyebrows, more than just curious now.

"Was she born there?"

Shyvana shook her head, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

"No. She was born in Noxus."

Jarvan couldn't help the frown that twisted his mouth, and he was grateful that Shyvana hadn't bothered to look up.

"She was a Noxian?"

Shyvana pursed her lips, trying to explain what her mother had told her all those years ago about the city she'd been born in.

"Not for long. It was very brutal when she was young, and she left when she could. She ventured to Demacia after, but she was no more welcome to stay there than in Noxus."

She had freed her arms to move them while she spoke, and Jarvan found himself more focused on the movements she used to express herself than her answer itself. It was a story he was more than familiar with; Noxus was no home to those they considered weak, and Demacia was no home to anyone ever affiliated with Noxus. It forced more than a few unfortunate people into travelling, like Shyvana's mother, or made them try their luck in the bigger cities of Piltover or Zaun that were unfriendly places to those without wealth. Shyvana still didn't seem uncomfortable with the conversation was going, and Jarvan certainly didn't want to talk about the flaws of Demacia or of Noxus, so he tried again.

"I'm sure she had many stories."

She nodded curtly, but didn't elaborate like Jarvan figured she would. He waited a couple of seconds, and prompted when she stayed silent.

"What's your favorite?"

This time Shyvana did smile, if sadly, and Jarvan marveled at the expression that wasn't a frown.

"There was a festival in Demacia before she left- the Dauntless Vanguard was dressed beautifully she said, leading a parade through the streets. She told me they were grand and intimidating, but that she wished the festival never ended. She spoke often of the soldiers in Demacia, and the samurais in Ionia. She valued their strength and their bravery."

Shyvana gestured widely, and while she was talking her face stayed light and smooth, but when she was finished, her expression disappeared and she once again crossed her arms. Jarvan felt like the more he asked of her, the more enigmatic she became; a gypsy mother and a father for a dragon, being hunted all her life by a rogue dragon that was now being hunted by her himself. She was raw and wild, but she was almost soft when she spoke of her mother, and her flickering emotions intrigued Jarvan more than anything else about her.

Jarvan forgot whatever he'd been about to ask after that, and they walked in a short silence, trailing slowly after the rest of the group. For the first time since meeting them, Shyvana took the time not spent speaking with Jarvan to study the group he travelled with. A small group, for being beyond the Barrier; besides Jarvan, there was the man he had been speaking to earlier that morning and two others, one man and only one woman whose restless eyes were constantly searching the forest. She couldn't find anything in common between the humans and none of them were particularly large and imposing, and she struggled to reason why Jarvan would come here with them. She was hesitant to ask about them, but eventually her curiosity became too much.

"Who are these people?"

She was grateful at least that they were too far away for them to hear her whisper, and Jarvan kept his voice low in turn.

"They were soldiers in mine and my father's Elite Guard. I handpicked them when I decided to leave."

Shyvana tilted her head, her interest piqued.

"What exceptional qualities do they possess?"

She couldn't find any for herself based on appearances alone, but if the humans had made it this far, there was something special about them.

"They are some of the most trained soldiers in Demacia, and they are unswervingly loyal. Dex has been in my personal guard as soon as he was of age, Miller is a hunter, and Renee is… well, Renee. She's most well known for her work in biology."

He gestured to each as he spoke, and Shyvana canted her head, now focused on the woman.

"Biology?"

Jarvan smiled, watching the interest play across her face as she watched Renee.

"The study of life. It's pretty broad, but Renee has an affinity for wildlife in particular."

Shyvana pursed her lips, and shifted her eyes away from the woman when she was finished staring.

"Your pack is small."

She'd been looking at Jarvan when she said this, so she caught the pained expression that crossed his face.

"There were twelve of us initially, but I'm sure you know more than anyone how brutal it is to stay beneath the Barrier."

Shyvana didn't exactly regret asking the question, but she didn't feel good about it either; to lose so many…

"I am sorry."

Jarvan's lips curled into a smile that didn't reach his eyes, and he looked away before Shyvana could see it fall.

"Thank you."

The quiet that followed this time was one neither of them were really willing to break, and Shyvana appreciated the silence more than she would have thought. She wasn't used to talking so much; her mother never felt the need to fill idle silences with questions and her father only spoke very rarely, and Shyvana was quickly finding it exhausting. She moved slightly ahead of Jarvan while they walked, keeping her distance from Jarvan's pack and drifting slowly through the trees ahead of them. She hadn't had a particular destination in mind at first, but the farther she walked the more and more she began to smell the drake, until it felt like every inch of the forest around her had been touched by him. The smell made Shyvana's skin tingle and every small hair on her body stand on edge, and she stopped walking when she thought she'd gone too far, realizing she left her group behind. She leaned stiffly against the rough bark of a nearby tree and rubbed her hands along her arms while she waited, trying to mollify some of her unease but not quite succeeding, and returned to warily watching the forest.

It was quiet for midday.

Faintly could she hear Jarvan and the other humans, but the other ambient sounds of the forest she'd grown used to hearing were absent, and instead of making her feel more at peace as silence usually did, it aggravated her unease until she stepped away from the tree, holding her arms up slightly to her sides, muscles tensed. For several long, stressful seconds Shyvana didn't move, trying her best to listen to what she couldn't hear. Beyond the steps of the humans, there was nothing, and Shyvana reluctantly tried to relax from her tense posture. She tried leaning backwards again, searching with a hand behind her for the tree she'd been leaning on earlier.

And suddenly, noise in the forest behind her.

There was the faintest crack of a tree branch that had Shyvana snapping back into her standing position, and in the seconds after the noise there was an absolute kind of quiet that she'd never felt before; she didn't breath, she didn't move, and she swore in that moment, her heart stopped beating, and if she hadn't already been so on edge from before she never would have been ready to fend off the attack that came at her now.

That single snap of a tree branch turned into the crack of much larger trees being splintered and shoved roughly out of the way as the drake Shyvana had been restlessly hunting barreled through the forest towards where she stood, a streak of midnight beneath the trees. Shyvana had just enough time to raise her arms to defend herself before the drake crashed into her, bellowing so loudly she wondered how she didn't go deaf.

Suffocating, crushing pain.

She moved with the momentum of the dragon's charge, rolling painfully over the forest floor until she ended up pinned to the earth, the end of the drake's clawed wings on either side of her face. She had both her hands clamped tightly on the dragon's jaws, ignoring where one of his fangs pierced the palm of her hand and using every ounce of strength she possessed to keep the snapping teeth away from her face and her throat. The drake screamed again, hot breath washing over her skin and saliva dripping onto her face. Her teeth grit painfully as he continued to push against her hold, and just as her arms began to shake she desperately screamed into the forest.

"Jarvan!"

Her voice only seemed to enrage the drake even more, and she couldn't hear if Jarvan responded over the thunderous growls coming from his chest. He took one long, heavy breath of air, and before Shyvana could think or scream or do anything else, she shoved his muzzle away from her body with all the force she could muster, twisting in the opposite direction as quickly as her battered body could move. Although she ended up with her back facing him, she could feel the heat from the jet of fire that had been directed at her burning through the forest air, and the resulting scream of the drake when he realized he'd missed. She whipped around, crouching low to the forest floor and desperately trying to stop the heaving of her chest as she prepared for the drake to charge once more. He almost seemed to mirror her stance; his face and his claws were pressed deeply into the foliage and he had his neck extended and teeth bared in a snarl that reduced Shyvana to nothing but instinctual terror. His tail whipped behind him, slashing through the lower branches of trees and showering them both in shredded leaves. It was that split second before she knew he would attack that Shyvana noticed the spot just below his left wing where her father had maimed him, and that where the sunlight touched his scales was an almost jewel shade of sapphire, and the wild, reptilian eyes that seemed to be made of fire itself perfectly matched her own.

And then he charged.

Every muscle in her body tensed for the impact that never came; she'd kept her eyes open so she didn't miss when Jarvan and his pack burst from the forest, shining in the sunlight just like the dragon was. Their sudden arrival was accompanied by the almost deafening sound of clashing metal, and even if Shyvana hadn't been watching it herself, she could have told exactly when Jarvan (who was unsurprisingly leading the group) collided with the drake, the resulting sound something Shyvana might compare to a thunderclap. Every human moved in tandem, swinging their blades to meet claws and wings and the drakes tail, and even though they were well coordinated, well experienced fighters, the drake was savage and fast and brutal, and it was just as he viciously swept a clawed wing across Renee's face that the heavy and painfully familiar feeling that Shyvana had come to dread swept through her.

And despite the screaming of the humans, of the drake, and the pain she felt in every inch of her body, Shyvana smiled.

* * *

><p>Jarvan could hardly think.<p>

He only registered the movements of his men and the teeth of the drake- endlessly the teeth came for him and endlessly he fought them back, until the head attached to the fangs pushed him aside and roughly to forest floor. He could feel the impact in every bone on his body and still pushed up immediately, but the mere seconds it had taken him to stand was all the time the dragon needed to finally bring down one of these new, unexpected adversaries.; Jarvan felt Renee's scream as if it had come from himself, and looked up in time to see her fall beneath the wing of the drake, a spray of blood following the swing of the dragon's claws.

He opened his mouth to shout or to scream, he didn't know, but the sound that followed was infinitely louder and murderously furious, and most certainly not from him. If he hadn't been watching it, Jarvan would have said it was another ear piercing roar from the drake, but it seemed just as surprised as he did; it stopped its attack on Renee, its giant head swinging upwards and towards Jarvan, the slits of its eyes focusing on a point in the forest just behind him.

Shyvana.

Jarvan couldn't see her move and he couldn't see her launch herself from where she'd been sprawled, so he wasn't sure at what point on the arch over his head that she stopped being human, but suddenly the drake had much bigger, deadlier problems than the crushed human beneath his claws. Shyvana – was it still Shyvana?- was every bit the dragon as the one beneath her claws and between her teeth, and so much more at the same time; where the other drake was navy and black, Shyvana was all fire, the golds and reds of her scales glaringly brightly even in the muted sunlight beneath the trees. There was still the purple hue of her skin in the wings she brandished and beneath each muscular leg, but the longer Jarvan watched the fight the more he thought he was watching the sun fight the night sky.

And he wasn't watching for long.

Shyvana tore at the other drake beneath her, each vicious swipe of her claws and each terrible flash of her fangs resulting in a much kind different growl from the drake than they had been hearing before, and still Shyvana's murderous roars drowned his out. There was a moment in the onslaught when Shyvana paused, each wing of hers pinning down both of his, her clawed back feet keeping away his feet and his tail, her long neck raised almost proudly above her prey. She curled her lip to bare every single fang in her mouth, gave one last bellow of anger and then plunged her neck downwards, towards the exposed and maimed chest of the other drake. The sudden movement caused both of the dragon's wings to flare open, and even though it was almost completely obscured, Jarvan and Dex and Miller all heard Shyvana's teeth tear through the flesh that stood between her and her prize, and it was only seconds later that she raised her head, the mangled and dripping heart of the drake held tightly in her jaws. Shyvana reared her head up high again, tossing the flesh in her jaws into the forest to her right and baying loudly into the air, the triumphant sound making Jarvan's skin crawl. He watched as she sat perched on the still body of the drake, her enormous chest heaving as air hissed passed over her fangs. It seemed like minutes before her head swiveled towards where Jarvan was still standing, and for one terrifying second, his eyes met the dragons- _Shyvana's. _Blood covered every single tooth and was splashed across her muzzle; it dripped from her mouth and back to its owner and over everything. She whipped back around before Jarvan could move or say anything, leaping from the body of the dead drake and launching herself in the forest in the direction of the river. He could hear her crashing loudly through the foliage but he didn't pursue, and as soon as every hint of her fiery hide was hidden behind the trees, he ran to where the other drake left Renee.

"Renee!"

Her still body and the generous puddle of blood around where her face was pressed into the earth filled Jarvan with dread, and when he was finally kneeling next to her body, his hands were shaking almost too much for him to turn her over.

He wished he hadn't.

Even washed in blood and surrounded by shredded skin, every claw mark from the drake was clearly visible, and it was clear that Renee was already lost. He laid her as gently as he could back down to the earth as Dex and Miller rushed to his side, both of their faces mirroring what he felt inside; he shook his head slowly, and each of their grim frowns deepened.

"Jarvan, we can't stay here."

He almost didn't hear Dex speak; he didn't turn to him and he didn't really plan on responding, either.

But Dex was right.

The noise from the fight was sure to be heard by anything and everything in the nearby forest, and the blood was going to attract god knows what. They couldn't be around here come nightfall; they would not survive another attack like this one.

"I need to find Shyvana."

It was the second thing that occurred to him after Dex spoke; they needed to bury Renee and they needed to leave, but he couldn't just leave Shyvana here, despite how clearly she displayed how much she didn't really need them. Dex nodded even though it wasn't readily apparent to him why they needed to go _after_ the bloody half dragon that could apparently shape shift, but he figured now wasn't the best time to question him.

Jarvan climbed unsteadily to his feet, clapping both Miller and Dex on their shoulders and giving Renee one long, regretful glance before walking back into the forest where the group had left their packs. He carefully avoided Renee's and pulled his from the pile, then quickly tugged off what little armor he brought with him to the Barrier. He stuffed it back into his bag, and now that he was unencumbered by armor, he crossed back to the part of the forest he saw Shyvana disappear into before, giving the dead dragon a very wide berth and being grateful that Shyvana had left a clear path in the forest for him to follow. There was a trail of crushed and broken greenery and light spatters of blood along the way that Jarvan wasn't sure were Shyvana's or the other dragons; he couldn't hear her anymore but he could hear the river clearly enough, and it was only a minute or so before the forest opened up and gave way to the muddy banks.

Jarvan looked up both sides of the river bank, not seeing Shyvana anywhere at first and trying to pick up her trail again outside of the forest. He walked a few paces down river, and it wasn't long before he found Shyvana's mark; there were several large, smudged prints pressed deep into the mud, and he followed them slowly, trying still to spot her himself. The footprints ended only a few feet from where they began, and Jarvan stopped walking when there were no more, still eyeing the claw marks captured in the dirt, and then looking up when something splashed in the river. He wasn't sure exactly what he expected; maybe the fiery gold of a dragons head or the edge of a wing, but all that showed above the surface of the river not too far from the bank was Shyvana's drenched head, her long hair no longer tied back in a braid and falling freely around her face. She had her back to the bank, but Jarvan could see her lift handfuls of water to her face and scrubbing roughly at the skin around her mouth and neck. She lifted her arms from the water next, flinching when she lifted her right arm and gently lowering it back into the water, carefully using her left hand to probe the shoulder blade.

Jarvan wasn't sure what he should do; after just witnessing what he had, he was more than a little apprehensive about doing or saying the wrong thing. He settled for gently calling out her name, convincing himself that if she didn't respond he could easily walk away and return to Dex and Miller.

"Shyvana?"

She spun around, spraying water in the process, her mouth popped open in a small 'o' of surprise. Her face fell when she saw who it was and she cast down her gaze, almost as if she was ashamed. Jarvan was half convinced she was going to stay in the water, but she quickly wiped the expression off of her face and started walking towards the bank where Jarvan was waiting.

Jarvan averted his gaze when it became apparent that she was unclothed, only raising his eyes again when he was sure Shyvana had walked passed him. She didn't go far; he could hear her moving in the forest just behind the bank, and after carefully waiting another minute or so, he turned around, ready to turn back if he had to. Shyvana had just started to tie the straps of her leather vest, and she glanced up only once while doing so to stare at Jarvan with the same confused look she gave him when he tried to shake her hand. He waited patiently for her to finish and stepped closer when she looked up, briefly meeting her gaze, but quickly looking away and gesturing to her right shoulder.

"Are you injured?"

She blinked like she had forgotten, and pursed her lips like she didn't want to answer.

"It is nothing."

He noticed another wound on the palm of her hand when she gestured, and he boldly took another step.

"Someone needs to look at it. Let me help you."

She mirrored his step with a backwards one of her own, looking at him as if she expected him to strike her.

"You should leave."

Her voice had none of the confidence or the anger it usually did, and Jarvan could have sworn she almost looked scared.

"It'll get infected, Shyv. It'll just get worse. Please."

She frowned at the nickname, but she didn't shy away again, and Jarvan walked slowly behind her, watching her posture stiffen impossibly. He paused before he proceeded, trying to his best to gauge her reaction to his question.

"I'm going to look at it, okay?"

The only answer she gave was a quiet grunt, and he slowly lifted a hand to her right shoulder, carefully moving her dripping hair away from her skin. He held her hair away with one hand while he inspected the wound with the other, his fingers just lightly trailing over her skin. There was a crescent shaped line of deep, jagged wounds that spanned most of her shoulder and that Jarvan assumed could only be a bite mark; sure enough when he turned Shyvana slightly around there was an almost identical, albeit shallower line of teeth marks on the front of her shoulder beneath her collar bone. They weren't bleeding but they were painful to look at, and if Shyvana didn't get them cleaned and wrapped they would surely get infected. He gently pressed his fingertips to the skin under her collar bone in an attempt to shift the wound so he could see it better, but Shyvana flinched away, tilting the shoulder away from him. They both just stared at each other after that, but Jarvan lifted his hands in front of him in what he hoped was a gesture she would understand, that he meant no harm.

"We only want to help."

He included Dex and Miller because he assumed that's what she was worried about, but her expression hardly shifted at all, and frustration began to color his tone.

"You could _die_ from that."

Now her expression twitched slightly, and she loosened the rigid posture she had forced herself into. Even with how much pain she had to have been in, she was still trying to force her expression back into its usual twist of haughty anger, and Jarvan wasn't angry so much anymore as he was eager to help. Thankfully she nodded instead of further resisting, and Jarvan turned around, leading her back through the forest and towards where he'd left Dex and Miller. Neither of them spoke as they walked beneath the trees, and for once Jarvan didn't even think about filling the silence. He avoided the dragons' body entirely and brought her to where they'd left their packs, making Shyvana sit on the grass nearest to his while he rooted around inside of Renee's for their meager medical supplies. He pulled out a very small bottle of antiseptic and a fresh roll of gauze, turning back to Shyvana and holding them up so she could see, and then gestured towards her shoulder.

"Turn around."

She did as he asked, then hunched over slightly and pulled her damp hair over her other shoulder, glancing nervously at Jarvan over the injured one while he worked. He uncorked the bottle of antiseptic, his hand hovering over her skin.

"This is going to hurt."

She paid no attention to his warning and he didn't wait any longer, tilting the bottle so the clear liquid would run over every hole in her skin. He did the same for the front of her shoulder and the palm of her hand, glancing frequently at her face to see if he should stop, but she never showed any signs of discomfort. She was silent and still as he washed over the wounds with water and just as quiet when he began to carefully wrap them, lifting her arm so it was easier for him to work. She waited patiently for him to finish, and while he was still tying off the gauze Dex and Miller returned. They gave her looks that ranged from curious to angry, but they simply tended to their packs and sat next to Jarvan when they were finished. Shyvana noted the absence of Renee and thought it wisest not to comment; she'd been sufficiently distracted when it happened, but she did see when Renee was struck down, and she felt badly for the humans' loss.

Jarvan was finished wrapping the wounds sooner than she thought, and he held a water skin out to her when he put away the last of the gauze. Shyvana took several long, deep pulls of the warm water, trying to ignore the looks she could now feel focused solely on her face, reluctantly lowering the water skin when she was finished. She kept her eyes pointed downwards when she handed it back to Jarvan, murmuring a quiet thank you and then standing, certain that now, the humans would want her to leave. She tried to move quickly, but she hardly walked two steps before there was shuffling behind her, and then a hand on her arm.

"Shyvana, wait."

The touch disappeared when she turned around, and wasn't surprised in the least to find Jarvan standing in front of her. Both Dex and Miller watched him with as much confusion as she did, waiting for him to speak.

"Come with us."

She blinked more than once while she registered his words, a denial already forming on her lips. Jarvan was quick to interrupt, eager to speak his mind before Shyvana refused and before he could forget what he wanted to say.

"I came here with Dex and Miller and Renee and everyone else because I was missing something; something to me didn't feel right, and watching you before… I'm going back to Demacia, and I want you to come."

The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, and Jarvan elaborated.

"As a part of my personal Elite Guard."

His eyes were bright with excitement and by the end of his very small speech he was breathless, waiting for her response. Shyvana glanced beyond him to the faces of his pack, the expressions she found there not quite encouraging; Dex's face was just beginning to take an angry tone, and Miller still hadn't moved passed the shock.

And neither had she, really.

A few days ago, she never would have imagined meeting Jarvan at all, and when she had, she had every intention of leaving him as soon as she was finished hunting the drake. Now, he wasn't just offering her a way out of the Barrier and a place in his Guard.

He was offering her a home.

Every instinct she had, every muscle in her body burned to say no and to run away and to forget the brief time she'd spent with Jarvan and his men, but there was a smaller part of her that refused to stay buried and that begged for the opportunity to have a place to call her own. She had never, _ever_ had a home, and now that she was finally being given the chance at one, how could she turn it down?

Shyvana looked away from Dex and back to Jarvan, lifting her gaze to meet his. She didn't know what expression was plastered on her face and she wasn't sure she cared, and before her body could betray her and deny Jarvan, she quietly acquiesced.

"I accept."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN Part 2: Okay I didn't want to put this at the beginning because I didn't want to spoil anything (sorta), but I was wondering if any of you have any strong objections to me skipping the part where they actually travel to Demacia? It's a really long travel distance and if I wrote it out, I think it would be a whole lot of filler. But, if you guys want it and think it would be better, I'll do it. Just figured I'd ask :]_**


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